CANDIDATE: The candidate is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Maryland, with strong background in aging skeletal muscle and human genetics. The candidate's research is focused on the identification of genetic factors that influence muscle mass and strength within the context of aging, but limitations in the candidate's training will hinder progress in the long term goal of identifying the interactions among genetic and environmental factors in specific subpopulations that influence the risk for developing sarcopenia. As such, the candidate is proposing to dedicate 85% of his time to a well-integrated career development plan in the areas of genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics that will place him in a unique and strong position to pursue his long term research goals. ENVIRONMENT: The candidate will pursue didactic instruction and research at the University of Maryland, which has strong research activities in genetic epidemiology and biostatistics. Research activities will be performed in the Functional Genomics Laboratory. Regular interactions with scientists and statisticians from the University of Pittsburgh will provide additional strong training in the use of advanced statistical tools in epidemiologic research. The mentorship of Drs. Ferrell, Hagberg and Hurley, in addition to regular interaction with the strong collaborators of the proposed program, will provide Dr. Roth with the training required to succeed as an independent investigator in the area of genetic epidemiology of sarcopenia. RESEARCH: In addition to the didactic instruction proposed as part of the training program, Dr. Roth has proposed a unique series of research activities stemming from current research projects within the mentors' laboratories. The research activities will involve research design, data collection, and advanced statistical analysis for three cohorts with strong measures of muscle mass and strength within which genetic and epidemiologic data will be collected during the proposed program period. With receipt of this K01 award, the proposed complement of instructional and research activities will provide the candidate with an excellent background in the use of genetic epidemiologic and statistical tools that will place him in a unique position to address the underlying mechanisms of sarcopenia as an independent investigator.